US Air? How do the fees compare to SW?

[talulabelle]

I have only flown SW for the last several years. I was going to book my next trip US Airways. Can anyone tell me what they are like? I have never flown with them before. Do they charge for luggage etc?

 

[JandD Mom]

Yes! Beginning July 9, they will charge $15 per person for the first bag, $25 for the second. That is unless you are a preferred dividend miles member (which I assume by your question that you are not). Also, they charge $5 service fee per bag if you pay for it at the airport. You do not pay the extra $5 fee if you pay online before you get to the airport.

USair also charges for certain seat assignments.

Southwest does not charge any of the above fees but Southwest also does not have assigned seats.

 

[DebbieB]

Yes! Beginning July 9, they will charge $15 per person for the first bag, $25 for the second. That is unless you are a preferred dividend miles member (which I assume by your question that you are not). Also, they charge $5 service fee per bag if you pay for it at the airport. You do not pay the extra $5 fee if you pay online before you get to the airport.

USair also charges for certain seat assignments.

Southwest does not charge any of the above fees but Southwest also does not have assigned seats.

They are already charging $15 for the first bag, $25 for the second. Beginning July 9, it goes up to $20/$30 unless you pay online.

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/traveltools/baggage/baggagepolicies.aspx

They also charge $150 for changes, SW has no charge.

 

[MarkinNM]

I loved them when they were America West Airlines, now they are USAir bla........Charging for bags is just stupid and they will NEVER get money from me again!!! But I do miss the Airbus plane..............

 

[uva185]

I loved them when they were America West Airlines, now they are USAir bla........Charging for bags is just stupid and they will NEVER get money from me again!!! But I do miss the Airbus plane..............

Ironically, I liked US Airways before America West management took them over. They basically took the worst of both airlines when they merged and then continued to drive the airline to the bottom.

I'm even exempt from the fees and I still don't fly them much anymore.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I prefer SWA since there's no fees to change flights either. On USAirways it's $150 pp to change. SWA lets you bring 2 bags pp free.

For a while USAirways had massive luggage handling problems in Philly. It was well-known and even discussed in our Sunday newspaper. The last 2 times we flew them our luggage was very delayed which is so frustrating when leaving on a cruise. Not too bad if they could just deliver to a local hotel. I know this happens on every airline at times but their customer svc # was just voice mail and a message saying the mailbox was full.
SWA has been very reliable for us.

Overall staff is happier on SWA. I haven't flown USAir in almost 4 yrs. For us, SWA wins every time.

 

[beccasmom]

I like SWA much better, but the rest of my family hates the fact that seats aren't assigned (which does not bother me in the least). So we use USAirways about 75% of the time because in PHL the fares between both are competitive (USAirways has more flights to Orlando, but if you count the ones that are non-stop only, it is about even). USAirways' customer service has improved a bit, but IMHO they had nowhere to go but up anyway, especially since the merger with America West.